Sgt Peppers Lonely hearts Club band and 1960's

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0700566                MUSC 102 Case Studies

Emily Thompson                The Beatles

How might it be said that Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band reflects wider social concerns in 1960’s Western culture? Does this reflection reside solely in the lyrics, or can it be detected in the musical material and/or structures?

Cultural Movement among the young which may become part of the history of our times…’(Pg. 157)

These words where spoken by Sir William Deeds about The Beatles in the late 1960’s. 1960’s in Britain was a time of counterculture; taboos were being broken and a psychedelic movement in music, art and society was causing a break away from conventional society. Surrounding Western culture was the Vietnam War (1965-1975) as well as the Cold War (1945-1989) creating a prominent peace and love movement particular through out the youth’s. Unemployment levels were low and the standard of living rose in the West leaving the youth of the day excess amount of money; creating a mind expansion towards rock music, eastern philosophy, drugs, and sex-a revolution in the mind. Radio had become a mass cultural phenomenon aiding music to be spread to a new and larger audience. Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band released in 1967, encapsulated all these factors: it ‘captured psychedelia, fashion, the vogue for eastern mysticism, the spirit of adventure, peace and love, and the anti war movement’ 1(Pg.157). Sgt Peppers had become the summary of the 1960’s through its music material, the song lyrics and, in certain cases, the structure. It was a completely different album to what had been seen in Britain before. It ‘caught rainbow confidence and colour of the 1960’s’ 1 (pg.113). Its new approach to music, design, and burst of psychedelic rock music even produced a cult in the USA 1 (pg.113-114) giving evidence that The Beatles were becoming a cultural phenomenon. ‘In an unsystematic fashion it represented the life and times it was created in’ 1 (pg.3).

 The Beatles were four men from Liverpool who wrote music from the influence of their surroundings and nostalgia; during playing Hamburg were they began all night gigs, they were able to met a variety of people who has a strong political influence of soviet left wing intellectuals, introducing them to new ideas. Surrounded by the working class they used their own experiences for example. ‘Strawberry Fields’ was inspired by a children’s home near Lennon. With a collaborative force of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, they were able to portray a point through both the rhythmic and harmonic inventive as well as the melody and lyrics. ‘a brilliant reflection of its kaleidoscopic 1967 self’ 1 (pg.2). This was The Beatles view of the world in 1960’s- a psychedelic view of the everyday society that surrounded them during the making of Sgt Peppers, lending to their nickname of the cultural leaders of flower power. They used Sgt Peppers to aid their political revolution, ‘to undermine the state’ 1 (pg.3), along as they were also icons rather than just musicians. They shifted ‘the entire focus of modern British culture1 (pg.157) through not only their lyrics and musical material but their sound as well. Because of their unusual performance spaces i.e. all night in Hamburg, they were able to absorb different genres of music. The USA had influences them with Motown, early soul whilst they were able to integrate other styles such as ‘jazz, folk music, rock, rhythm n blues, classical’ 1 (pg.137) as well as drawing on non-western sources such as Indian music ragas and sitars.

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Sgt Peppers was a classical element of psychedelic, as well as other factors. The usage of tonal colour, unusual rhythmic changes, texture, melodic inventive created an invasion of creativity that other rock n roll bands would follow later on for example they had created the fin de siecle of convention. The psychedelic movement is shown clearly in the musical material of Lucy in the sky with diamonds. Psychedelia, in particular of music, is ‘characterized by musical experimentation and drug related lyric’s’ 2. Its esoteric, dream-like lyrics, for example ‘Tangerine trees and marmalade skies…’ create strong imagery and tonal colour. The lyrics are relating back to ...

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